On Jun 27, 2010, at 12:18 PM, R A Brown wrote:
> Eugene Oh wrote:
>> Ray,
>> Would you know whence Lluyd got the inspiration for the
>> name "Celtic" then?
>
> Caesar refers to the peoples of Middle Gaul as 'Celtae' (also some earlier Greek & Roman writers referred to some peoples in northern Europe as 'Celtae' - so 'Celtic' was more politically acceptable than 'Gallic')
Where does the /k/ pronunciation of the name come from? Other English words with _c_ before _i e y ae oe_ taken from Latin use /s/ (despite the Classical Latin pronunciation), and the rule about 'hard' vs. 'soft' _c_ is, to my mind, one of the most consistent orthographic rules English has, so it's surprising to find counterexamples.